Yes, I'm definitely in a roulade phase! This is the third type of roulade I've made in the last few weeks. This was for an event we held on Sunday. It is refined-sugar free, gluten free and dairy free.

I was really pleased with how it came out. It is made with just eggs, lemon juice, xylitol* and walnuts. Of course, I then decorated it with fresh raspberries and then drizzled a little fruit-sweetened, sugar free raw chocolate and grated lemon zest on top.

It was eaten up very quickly, but I did manage a little slice, only to check how it tasted, of course!

*Xylitol is a natural sweetener, a sugar alcohol used as a substitute for sugar. I like it and it seems to work well. It is a cup for cup replacement for table sugar, so it's easy to substitute in recipes. It is also granulated like sugar but you can grind it up finer, as necessary.

Xylitol is found in the fibers of many fruits and vegetables and can be extracted from various berries, oats, mushrooms, as well as fibrous materials such as corn husks and birch. Unlike other sweeteners, xylitol is actively beneficial for dental health, reducing caries to a third in regular use and it has also been shown to reduce the incidence of ear infections.

It has a much lower glycemic index than sugar - GI 7 for xylitol vs GI 80 for sugar, so it a great low calorie sugar substitute for diabetics that doesn't cause a spike in blood glucose levels.

I don't notice any difference in taste at all between it and sugar, but I find it takes a little long to dissolve when I am cooking with it, for example if beating it with eggs, it stays granular longer so I just whisk it a little longer.

Have you ever used it? What are your thoughts? If not, give it a go. I think you'll like it.

Strawberry Roulade

I had a group of British friends around last night so indulged in a yummy (not healthy) gluten free dessert - Strawberry Roulade. But there was method behind my madness!

I am working on creating refined sugar free - and maybe even egg free - meringue style dishes. One I wanted to try is a soft roulade where you roll the meringue into a log. But before I try changing a recipe, I want to know what it's like to do it as written, as it is then easier to know if you are on track when you make changes.

Gosh - I got quite excited! It was a delicious light dessert that looked so pretty too. I managed to get some of my fruit flour in the recipe too - adding strawberry flour this time! The flour is sprinkled on the top of the meringue and also included in the filling.

This sugared version is limited to an occasional treat. As it happens, there were about 20 of us so we each only got a little taste. The recipe says it's for 8 - 10 people.

Today I tried the same thing but using xylitol instead of refined sugar. Xylitol is a natural sugar alternative with a low glycemic index. I cooked it a little too long and it started to brown, but apart from that, I was pleased with how it turned out. I'll give it another try with a shorter cooking time. But the meringue is crispy on the outside and soft and gooey in the middle! Here's the sugar free version photo below:

I need to work on a better dairy free filling too as the coconut cream I used in this one, was too coconutty - even with some strawberry flour added. So the experiments continue!